Bending Parameters
by SarkSilver
Summary: Set S5 directly after 'Fool for Love'. As a Slayer Buffy's veiw of the world is simple. Hellgods,demons,Vampire's with no souls:BAD, everything else:GOOD, simple. That is until something comes along to shake things up...
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I am not, nor ever have been, Affiliated with Mutant enemy and Joss Whedon. I own nothing, not copyright infringment is intended and these stories are for entertaiment purposes only. There is no financial gain to be had.

**Author's note: **As I said, I own nothing. No themes/characters/Slayers/supremely hott vampires (or basically, SPike.) no matter how much I want them. So, Joss went and ended the show, but he told us-his fans-to please write a lot of fan fiction. Now, since I owed him for concieveing Spike, i figured I could comply to his request.

Tell me what you think and I'll know to go on.

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**Chapter 1 - In Which Buffy Makes a Friend**

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"There's a kind of Hush all over Sunnydale." Buffy Summers said to herself as she walked through the cemetery. She giggled remembered the music she had heard earlier on the radio when Giles's station played some old fogie music. "There's a kinda of hushhhhhh all over the helllll-mouth…" she sang to the imaginary tune in her head.

Oh God. She was bored.

"Jeez, will some of you guys just rise already." She said frustratedly. "I mean if you've got me singing fogie songs then some things are just so not of the good and I need to kill something." The cemetery remained silent. She only sound was that of her boots swishing through the grass. "Even a little something?" She added hopefully.

Still nothing.

Damn.

She had been restless and a little down on herself since a few days ago when she had a run in with a vampire-a regular run of the mill vampire who managed to use her own stake against her. It made her realize she had gotten a little over confident and right now she really just wanted to kill something and get her confidence back. Convince her self that she wasn't off her game. Besides, she had fought against monsters with much more pressing physical problems.

Also, she really wanted to work out some pent up tension with all that was happening with her mom.

Basically, she just really needed somehting to kill.

The stake wound was nearly all healed and she was sure she could fend of a few fledglings and if the going got though, she knew that she could turn tail and make a tactical retreat as good as the next guy.

So her plan was set, she was even wearing her ass kicking boots, she had her plan. So of course, there were no vampires out to play.

"Okay, I'm off." Buffy said after ten minutes of fruitless walking around in a dark misty cemetery. She decided to leave Restfield and hit another on of Sunnydale's cemeteries of which they have too many. She was just about to clear the gate when she heard the bustling of a fight somewhere a little ways off.

Not caring how morbid it was of her to be happy that something was getting killed so that she could kill them, Buffy headed towards the ruckus.

As she was nearing she heard a hoarse shout, and Buffy sped up.

Instantly she felt guilty for her happiness earlier. How could she have forgotten that there were lives at stake here? Maybe he was some grieving husband here to put flowers on his wives grave.

Well, time to channel the guilt into something a lot more productive, ie, Vampire ass kick-age.

She was wrong, there didn't seem to be any humans in this fight. Just three vamps. Two men against a girl, and she seemed to be holding her own.

Uh oh. More than one, and that girl really didn't look like a fledgling. This meant Buffy bail-age, the last thing she needed was for three vamps to forget their grievances and team up against an injured slayer.

Anyways, if she was lucky they would just stake each other.

She was just about to turn tail and go but the girl seemed to have different ideas because she was suddenly on the ground a few feet away from where she was standing.

And she was in pain. Lots of it.

Buffy groaned as she felt the wound on her side open up and begin to seep blood into the bandages she had carefully put on before she left.

She didn't understand it, the vamp hadn't even gotten close to her! By the time she had stood, the other two vamps were gone, but she could detect faint pieces of dust falling to the ground.

The only vamp standing was the girl. Buffy was on her in a second, even before she had time to turn around. Buffy performed a perfect roundhouse that knocked the vamp down. Buffy grabbed her and turned her around, her arm cocked and ready to drive the stake she was holding unerringly into the vampire's chest.

And just like that everything stopped. Buffy was confused, she was telling her arm to thrust forwards and dust the creature of the night but she couldn't move it. She couldn't move anything.

What the hell was going on? Thrall? This didn't feel like anything that damn Dracula had her in.

The vampire got up and brushed grass off her pants.

Buffy noticed more about her now, she was short, maybe only an inch or so taller than Buffy, herself. She was holding her palm out, and a strange white light seemed to be emitting from it.

"Who are you?" the girl demanded. Her voice was kinda echo-y.

_Yikes_. Buffy thought. _I don't thing this on qualifies for vamp status. I think this is a big check in the demon column._

"Buffy." She found herself saying. "The Vampire Slayer."

The demon's eyes widened in surprise as she took in the diminuative blonde who claimed to be the Chosen One.

"You are?" she asked eagerly, she has a crisp, clipped British accent. "Well, you're no more than a slip of a girl. I had expected someone at least taller."

Buffy scowled, she had gotten tired of all the height cracks a good long time ago, and yet they still kept coming.

"Just because I'm shorter does not mean you're going to beat me, demon girl." She bit out, glad that the demon had at least allowed her to move her mouth.

She seemed genuinely amused at the statement.

"Oh! So you thought me a demon!" she said conversationally. "Well, that clears things up. I was about to inquire as to what a slayer such as yourself was doing beating up humans in a graveyard. I actually thought you were a vamp, myself."

Buffy peered at her, it was all she could really do being immobile and all. She tried fighting against the magical bond but still couldn't seem to break out of it.

"You're human and you know about vampires?" she demanded. "What on earth are you doing taking a midnight stroll though the cemetery?"

The girl grinned.

"I seem to have handled myself, quite well, Slayer." She said. "You, on the other hand, leave a lot to be desired. I rather expected more from the famous Buffy Summers."

She dropped her hand and Buffy felt her hold dissipate. She arched a challenging eyebrow silently telling the slayer that she could renew that hold whenever she so desired. Buffy rolled her eyes and pocketed her stake in a show of truce.

"You know who I am?" she asked.

The girl nodded.

"You, my dear girl,are the reason I'm here."

Buffy rolled her eyes. If only she had a nickel for every time someone came to Sunnydale to challenge her.

"Right." She said. "I'd love to make with the epic battle right now, But I'm kinda beat.So can we do this some other time?"

The girl smiled and shook her head.

"I don't mean to fight you." she said. "I have been sent by my coven to figure out why you haven't died."

There was an awkwards pause as Buffy tried to think of just what to say to something like that. The girl however frowned.

"I have." Buffy said finally.

"Well, Permanently." The girl replied. "We've been studying slayers you see."

Buffy smiled grimly.

"Well, I wish I knew how I tick." She said remembering that she had to go to Spike of allpeople just the day before to figure things out."But I don't even have the benefit of the slayer handbook."

"Oh, We're not interested in that rubbish." The girl replied. "The whole 'chosen' issue has been addressed. We're studying life span. Do you know that you are the longest living Slayer in history?"

Buffy's eyebrows shot up.

"Yeah?" she said, the proud grin that spread across her face could not be helped. "Wow. Go me."

The girl smiled patronizingly.

"Yes well, the reason that you have achieved this title is really a mystery." She said. "You are quite sloppy."

Buffy lifted her chin.

"Sloppy how?"

The girl jerked her chin at the blood that was currently staining Buffy's taupe cotton top.

"You patrolled with an injury, outright looking for trouble." She said. "And you challenged a being who could so easily defeat you. You do remember that while you were defying me, you couldn't move because of a spell I put on you?"

Buffy rolled her eyes.

"You're not a baddie, remember?" sheasked in feigned nonchalance. She did realize the gravity of her sitaution, a fight with this witch right now would so be something of the bad."So slayer-sense, not so much with the noisy alarm bells in my head." She forced a grin. "So you're a witch?"

The girl nodded.

"I'm a Triste." She said as if it explained everything. Then she realized, off Buffy's blank look, that she needed to elaborate."We are acoven of witches known to maintain the balance, I specialize in research about slayers. My name is Charlotte."

"Right then." Buffy said with a bright smile. "Now that we're acquainted lets have sleep overs."

Charlotte rolled her eyes.

"I will never understand the rubbish you call humor in the colonies." She said with good natured scorn.

Buffy smiled. She liked this Charlotte person, she reminded her of someone, with her quick humor and smug confidence. She was a little like Giles, but a little like someone else. It annoyed Buffy that she couldn't put her finger on it.

"Well, if you're sticking around you're going to have to get used to it, Char." She said, making a mental note to ask Giles about the Triste coven.

Charlotte frowned.

"Please don't ever call me that again." She requested politely.

Buffy meant to smile at her mischievously but saw that Charlotte was being perfectly serious.

"Right." She said.

"And I suppose I will be sticking around." Charlotte agreed. "But this is really too long a conversation to be had in a graveyard."

Buffy shrugged chancing one long lok around the quiet graveyard. They seemed to be the only two beings up and about.

"It's been a slow night." She informed the witch.

"I see." Charlotte conceeded."Never the less, I'm not partial to graveyards myself, so please, take me to your watcher."

Bufy nodded.

"Right, sure." she said jerking her head to tell the with wordlessly to follow her. "Its only a little ways of to the Magic Box."

Charlotte followed Buffy to the Magic Box and they spoke en route about non-consequential things like the temperate weather of Southern California and the size-or lack of it-of the town of Sunnydale. Before they kew it they were standing right in front of the Magic Box.

Charlotte seemed surprised.

"Well, that took-"

"Less time than you thought?" Buffy cut in. "Well, we don't have a lot of town here."

The British witch nodded.

"So, I can see." she said.

Buffy smiled and opened the door. A 'ding' sounded in the small shop, announcing their presence to Giles and Anya.

"Hello, Buffy." Giles said as he spotted her, he didn't seem to notice Charlotte. "You're late."

Buffy smiled.

"Hi Giles, nice to see you too." She said. "Oh yeah, My day was totally of the good, thanks so much for doing to polite thing and asking."

Giles studied her for a moment and then dismissed her statement as one of her bizarre Valley-girl comments.

"Oh yes, well very good." He said absent mindedly. He was about to address the girl that had entered with his charge,but then caught the smidgeon of blood that had marred her tank top. "Er, Hello there." He said with a quick smile. "Would you excuse us for a moment, Buffy, come here, it seems you're bleeding. Anya, the kit."

Buffy looked down at her tank top and then glared at Charlotte. Anya handed Giles a first Aid kit from under the counter and then proceeded to ignore them, focusing instead on counting the day's take.

"You couldn't have healed it or something, super witch?" she hissed, she walked down and sat on one of the chairs as Giles fiddled with the mercurochrome and gauze. Charlotte raised her hand but Buffy waved her off.

"How did you open this up again, Buffy?" Giles asked as he dabbed the wound and put a fresh bandage over it.

"I, uh, Fell." She said quickly lying through her teeth, she remembered Giles telling her not to patrol with such a deep wound in her abdomen. She was barred for at least a week. "Tripped on a shoelace and hit the concrete. I even got a round of applause."

Charlotte sent her a disbelieving look but Buffy shook her head. She silently begged the witch not to rat her out.

Giles looked between her and the other girl.

"Hello." He said. "You look familiar, do I know you?"

Charlotte shook her head. Buffy looked back at her new friend. Come to think of it, she did look familiar. She just couldn't place how.

"No, mister Giles." She said smoothly. "I, however, know you."

Giles frowned.

"Oh?" he said. "Were you sent by the council?"

Charlotte shook her head.

"Mister Giles, I am Charlotte, a witch of the Triste order." She said. "And I have come here to learn all that I can about your charge, the slayer."

Giles was silent for a moment. He had heard of the order but had never seen one of them, he was under the impression they had died out

"A pleasure." He said nodded sagely when she didn't present her hand to shake. "You just met Buffy on the street?"

Charlotte hazarded a glance at Buffy but decided to cover up for the slayer, she realized that buffy was not supposed to be patrolling with her apparent injury.

"I uh- Knew whoI was looking for." she said earning a grateful glance from Buffy and cemeting thier new friendship.

Anya suddenly decided to make her presence known.

"A Triste?" she asked eagerly. "One of the immortal witches?"

Buffy glanced away from Charlotte and over at Anya to see the former-demon smiling curiously. She actually looked a little impressed. Buffy had never seen Anya impressed at anything that wasn't green and fold-y.

Charlotte followed the slayer's eyes and found herself loking a skinny blonde girl who was smilling at her with interest. There was something off about the girl, so Charlotte studied her for a few more moments before coming to a conclusion.

"You're newly human." Charlotte observed.

Anya nodded, beaming.

"Yes I am," she said."Thanks for noticing."

"Wait, a second, you know what a Triste is?" Buffy demanded of her friend's girlfriend.

Anya nodded.

"You mean you don't?" she said incredulously. "Really Buffy, I would have thought you'd know about them. They're really very-"

Giles cleared his throat signaling for Anya to go on.

"Alright, alright I'm getting to it." She said with a roll of her eyes. "To becomes a Triste one must have a lots and lots of magical ability, once you're accepted you become immortal and are given a task that you have for your lifespan, however long it may be."

Buffy nodded then turned to Charlotte for verification and the blonde witch nodded sagely.

"That would be one way of explaining it." she said.

"You said something about protecting the balance." Buffy replied with a nod. She remembered someone had told her about how important'thebalance' was a few years ago. The little guy with the really bad suit."You don't happen to know Whistler do you?"

Charlotte nodded.

"We greatly depend on Whistler to advise the leaders of the order." She said solemnly. She ignored the look of disbelief from Buffy, and clarified what she had said. "He helps distribute assignments."

Buffy grimaced.

"You take orders from a short weirdo who doesn't seem to get that sometimes matching clothing is of the good?"

Charlotte frowned but seemed to be unable to come up with a proper retort. She herself, had often thought that Whistler was often partial to out-fits that er-didn't suit him.

"Enough about the order, " she said. "I came hereto learn more about the Slayer." She turned to Buffy. "And that's you, So I'd like to see how your training sessions go, Whoose influences you use in fighting, things like that."

Buffy rolled her eyes.

"Uh-huh." She said. "Out of all the Billions of choices they could have made, they chose me to be one of the two girls who get to be the 'One girl in all the world'" she paused and looked at Giles. "Have I mentioned how you should totally change that tag line? The whole Chosen ONE thing, dosen't work when there are two girls walking around bearing the name 'slayer'."

Giles nodded jerkily.

"Er, yes." He said, "I trust you know this part of the story, Charlotte."

The witch nodded.

"I've read about your vairous histories, extensively." she said and then off Buffy's spooked look, added, "I know how that sounds but you really are an enigma. All of us have been trying to findout what's so different about you."

Giles nodded thoughtfully.

"We seem to have similar queries." He said. "Lately, Buffy's been interested in finding out what makes the Slayer's last fight different from all the rest."

Charlotte glanced down at the newly bandaged wound on Buffy's belly and nodded in understanding. She had wondered what had happened to Buffy.

"Well," Buffy said, drawing Charlotte's attention away from the wound and back on track."We read all the stuffy watcher's diaries but really they get a little stingy with the details when it comes to the slayer's deaths."

"Indeed." Giles agreed, pulling off his glasses, cleaning them and replacing them on his nose.

Charlotte frowned.

"So you weren't able to find anything?" she asked.

Buffy raised her hand.

"Uhm, I actually kind of get it."

Giles and Charlotte look at her expectantly.

"Remember yesterday when I bailed, Giles?" she asked.

The watcher nodded. His face twisted in annoyance, Buffy had rather left in the middle of their important research and had ignored him when he called her.

"Well, That's because I knew someone who had been survived the fights. And I got all the information I need." She explained.

"Buffy-"

"Who could you have possibly spoken to that would have that sort of information?" Charlotte asked.

Buffy smiled sheepishly.

"Spike."


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note: **Okay, everyone, this is a whole new fic and i'm needy so I want a lot reassurance! C'mon guys tell me if you like it!

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Chapter 2 - In Which Spike Makes an Entrace

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"Spike?"

Giles nodded at the witch.

"He goes by the historical name, William the Bloody." He explained quickly. "Sired by Drusilla, in the line of Aurelius he-well, he aids us whenever we find necessary."

Charlotte looked completely floored.

"William the Bloody?" she said incredulously. "The Slayer of Slayers?"

Giles nodded.

"Er…yes." he said. "_That_ William the Bloody." He had meant to leave it at that but decided to add when Charlotte pinned him with a penetrating blue stare. "We-er, have a history with him."

"You know Spike?" Buffy asked her new-well, she supposed she could sorta call her a friend.

Charlotte nodded.

"His reputation precedes him." She said sagely. "A fourth of the Scourge of Europe, He's the only vampire to ever actively sought out a slayer, fight her and win. He's legendary and is said to have almost untold power. Many of us in the coven call him the Black Knight."

Buffy looked surprised. She didn't think Spike was that tough. Was she really that good? Or was Charlotte just talking about a wholly different William the Bloody.

And wait a second, _Black Knight_?

"Isn't that batman?" she asked, thinking just how lame it must be to live in a coven, jeez. Naming annoying blond vampires after comic book character just because they think he's all that.

Charlotte and Giles both arched an eyebrow.

"What?" asked Buffy defensively. "Did you two just live the last twenty years in a cocoon devoid of any pop culture?"

They both decided to ignore the pointed barb so Buffy rolled her eyes.

"And what about Kendra?" she pointed out. "Did Drusilla just magic her away?"

Charlotte shook her head. She remembered asking her own superiors the same question when she had heard about the death of the second slayer.

"Thrall." She said. "There was no real fighting involved."

Buffy arched an eyebrow.

"Right. Vampire loopholes. Whatever." She said flippantly. "Anyway, I figure, he's killed two slayer, apparently the only one ever to do so, God knows what happened to the rest of them-" she held up a hand before Charlotte filled her in. "-I had him tell me how it was he won."

Charlotte looked at her curiously.

"You're just walked up to him and asked him?" she demanded incredulously. "And he told you everything you wanted to know?"

Buffy shook her head, a wicked smile crossing her face.

"Nope." She said popping her 'p'. "I walked up to him and offered him a lot of money and _then_ asked him and _then_ he told me everything I wanted to know." She silently added the 'and then some' and then turned to Giles. "I'll be wanted some sort of pay back, I mean it was slayer business and all."

Giles nodded with a roll his eyes.

"Why?" the witch couldn't help but asking.

Buffy gave a long suffering sigh.

"It's a really long story," she paused and waited for Charlotte's nod before she continued. "See these military guys used to run amok in Sunnydale grabbing all sorts of supernatural beings and making with the science experiments. They got Spike and shoved a chip in his head so he can't hurt humans."

"That's-"

"Unnatural and kinda crazy?" Buffy asked. "Yeah, but hey, I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. Actually I'm not one to look any horse in the mouth because that would actually by really gross." She shook herself out of her thought process and put her focus back into the vamp at hand. "But Spike helps out in his own evil demented and annoying way."

"This is unbelievable." The witch said a little absently.

"Which?"

"Everything." She said. "You understand that William the Bloody is one of the most violent vampires in history?"

Buffy nodded.

"Yeah, but then again so what else is new." She said, she was looking forward to what Charlotte would say to this one. "My ex-boyfriend was Angelus." She paused and let it sink in. "And before you ask, yes. That Angelus."

The look on the witch's face made her look much younger. Buffy noticed for the first time that Charlotte didn't look any older than her. Eighteen or nineteen at the most. She supposed it was the stiff dignity that she carried herself with, she could, after all be a hundred and fifty years old.

And she did look familiar, in that strange, it's at the back of your brain type way. Whenever Buffy thought that she was closing to placing Charlotte, the idea would slip away.

It was getting frustrating.

"Uh, Giles, I kinda gave a big chunk of my allowance to the evil undead?" she said reaching her hand out to her watcher.

Giles nodded, understand immediately.

"Monetary gratification." He said walking up to the counter and collecting some crisp hundreds and twenty bills. "Of course."

"HEY!" Anya cried trying to grab back the bills. "She used her own money! Why do we have to give her ours?"

Giles snatched them away and somehow managed to swat Anya with them. Charlotte took in the exchange with another quizzical look at Buffy. The slayer responded with a giggle.

"Anya is a little bit-uh possessive over the money." She said. "She helps Giles out, so she doesn't like it when we use the money for Scooby business."

"The dog?" the now baffled witch asked.

Buffy grinned triumphantly

"Ah, so you do get the pop culture!" she said pointing her finger at the Triste. "I knew it!"

Charlotte arched an eyebrow and gestured for Buffy to continue on the subject of the Scoobies.

"Right, well, I my friends usually help me out with the slayage and stuff." Buffy added. "They'll be around later, you'll like Willow-and Tara. They're witches too."

Charlotte nodded.

"I'm sure I will." She said sounding a little bit dazed. "So, are you going to patrol and then meet them here?

Buffy nodded.

"Yup." She replied. "Night's still young- I can drag Spike's undead ass here if you want to give him the 5th degree." She said walking over to the mini brawl between Anya and Giles and grabbed the money.

Giles took a few steps away from a scowling Anya and nodded.

"Indeed Buffy Bring him here." Giles said. "I'd like talk to him about some things."

Buffy nodded.

"I'll drag in the bleached wonder kicking and screaming." She promised. She then paused. "I might need a little more."

Giles sighed and handed Buffy another wad of bills to which Buffy replied with a big grin.

"Later, Charlotte."

The witch waved. Good bye and shook her head. Buffy had gone unarmed. She didn't think she would ever understand how Buffy Summers managed to live for so long.

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"Slayer, tell me why again we're going to the Magic box?" Spike asked as Buffy strode purposefully a little ahead of him. "Can't tell you anymore of the stories of my conquests-"

She paused and turned around and shot him a murderous glare.

Why had she agreed to do this again? Oh right, she had completely forgot to factor in how annoying Spike was. Damn watchers, why couldn't they be more detail obsessed like in every other entry-except the last one. If they had then she wouldn't have to be here listening to Spike at all.

He rolled his eyes.

"-The bright, wonderful warriors of the light that I so wickedly killed. And I'm a bad, evil man." He said pulling out a cigarette and putting it between his lips. He lit it and took a long healing drag. "Look, I've already told you the bloody stories, I played like a good puppy. What the hell else do you want?"

"I should stake you for being so flippant about their lives." Buffy said angrily.

"Oh, will you look at that, luv, I'm a vampire." He said. "What the bloody hell did you expect?"

Buffy shook her head. Doing her very best to keep her stake had from shooting out. Spike was helpful in his own very annoying sort of way. She gritted her teeth so hard her mandible hurt.

"Giles has some questions." She said simply. She turned away from him and continued striding off, knowing that he would follow. He would do almost anything for money.

Spike shook his head slowly. The bint really had a lot to learn about the world. Sometimes he thought they all forgot just how old Spike really was, and just how much he knew. Not that he liked to broadcast that, he did so like to surprise them.

Buffy saw his patronizing look out of the corner of her eye and felt her blood boil.

"What?" she demanded. "What is it?"

Spike rolled his eyes and exhaled the smoke right into her face just to annoy her. She waved it away, but looked murderous as she did so.

"You've learned everything you need to know." He said purposefully being ambiguous. "There's only so much I can tell you."

She arched an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" she demanded. "Cut the cryptic, Spike. That's not your style and we both know it."

"Now, now, don't want to spoil the fun for Rupes and that Triste you picked up." He said.

Buffy's eyes narrowed in suspicion when he mentioned Charlotte.

"How did you know about Charlotte?" she asked tersely.

That seemed to change his mood. The look on his face was new, but unreadable. Buffy studied him warily.

"Her name's Charlotte?" The vampire asked after a few moments.

Buffy nodded, they turned into Main Street and Buffy was obscenely glad to be close to the Magic box.

"What's it to you?" she asked.

Spike shook his head, he demeanor had gone back to his usual, swagger swaggering brutish-ness.

"Good strong name." he said simply.

Buffy decided not to remind him once again that she thought he was insane.

"Do you know what Tristes are?" she asked instead, stopping her brisk gait to look at him accusingly.

Spike nodded, stopping as she did.

"Course I do." He said. "Powerful coven."

Buffy waited.

"And?"

Spike flicked his cigarette away and got started on another one.

"And, what, slayer?" he said. "I know the Tristes they're a powerful coven. Period."

Buffy rolled her eyes.

"I'll add another fifty bucks. Tell me everything you know."

"Now that's more bloody like it." He said with a smirk. "They Started up a bloody long time ago." He began. "They're on a strict 'don't touch us we won't touch you' policy. And they're the only ones who hold as much supernatural knowledge as that bloody Council of Wankers. They find people with potential for tremendous magical power and turn them immortal-no one is quite sure how." He put the cigarette back into his a mouth took and inhaled. "They're taught intensive mental magic and are supremely difficult to beat in battle. They also answer to that bloody garish bugger-Whistler. Chock a whole lot up to that balance thing." Spike shook his head. "Poncy bugger just won't take a side is what, if you ask me."

Buffy looked surprised. She hadn't thought that Spike had met the demon. Wow, he sure did get around. Whistler, not Spike.

"You know Whistler?"

Spike rolled his eyes.

"I've walked this earth for more than a century, Slayer." He said condescendingly. "What's do you think I've been doing half the time? Holing up in some bloody motel room watching the sodding telly?"

Buffy shrugged and then continued walking.

"Well, you do like Passions."

Spike shook his head and smoked some more. The nicotine helped a great deal to ease his raging demon. It was time like these that he was never sure if he wanted to kill the slayer and dance in her blood or push her up against the wall and take her for all the world to see.

"Cor." He said lowly to himself. Mentally praying to whatever deity looked over the vampires of the world. "Give me strength."

Buffy had flounced into the store ahead of him, slamming the door in his face. Damn that bitch could get petty.

He yanked it open again and strode through is. He tipped his head to demon-girl behind the counter and she offered him a small smile in return. He had always liked the bird, she was half of alright.

"Spike, I've asked you any times not to smoke in here." The watcher said tersely by way of greeting.

Spike made a big show of blowing a smoke ring and arched a challenging brow at the tweed clad older looking, but younger man.

"Alright, Rupes." He said throwing himself into a chair across Giles and crossing his arms. He waited expectantly. "The slayer said you had some questions that needed answering?"

"I do indeed." Giles said guardedly. Something about Spike unsettled him, as it always did. The volatile vampire was always surprising them.

"Well, then," he said lifting his chin and taking another drag. He smirks "Step on up."

Giles hesitated, wanting to wait for Charlotte before he began to question Spike. The astute vampire noticed this in an instant and his smirked deepened. He had always wanted to meet a Triste witch. They were almost as infamous to the demon community as the slayer.

"Where is this Triste that everyone seems to be talking about?" he asked.

Giles look mildly surprised that Spike knew about the girl. He turned to the mezzanine to see that the girl was already climbing down the ladder-steep steps. She had her back turned.

"Charlotte," he addressed her. "This is Spike."

She turned around and Spike felt his cigarette drop out of his mouth, before the floor was rushing to meet him.


End file.
